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Ladies and gentlemen I'd like to talk to you about a very serious issue in our classrooms and offices today -- bullying, and how it affects brainstorming sessions.

"You can't do this.", "That's terrible.", "That will never work.", "You're a failure.", "Just quit now.", "You'll never get this done.", "That's the dumbest idea ever!", "That's so stupid!". Phrases like these are heard every day during ideation and brainstorming sessions. They're mean, hurtful things and are never productive toward accomplishing goals. They tear down confidence and crush any opportunity for true creativity. People become afraid to toss out ideas. Sometimes it gets so bad they shut down and become afraid to speak out at all.

This is what happens when creative bullies are allowed into a brainstorming session.

One easy solution would be just to "not invite the bully" to the session at all.…